Tintin and Picaros

Tintin and Picaros is an album of cartoon of the series the Adventures of Tintin and Milou . It is the last album which was completed.

Synopsis

At the time of a voyage to the San Theodoros, the Castafiore and the Dupondt are stopped by the mode of the Général Tapioca, under pretext of a plot whose Capitaine Haddock would be the fomenter. After some telegrams of insults, Haddock and the Professor Tournesol agree to go to Tapiocapolis to discuss with the general, without Tintin, which refuses to come… They are accommodated with open arms by the mode, which them envoit in a luxurious hotel, where they are nourished and placed while waiting for that Tapioca grants a maintenance to them. Little by little, they understand that the invitation was a trap: they can leave the hotel room only while being narrowly supervised. At this point in time Tintin joined them…

The Tapioca general organizes thereafter a false escape bid to make them assassinate, but this attempt fails and Tintin, Haddock and Tournesol succeed in fleeing with the Général Alcazar, with the assistance of Pablo (which was already in the broken Ear ). The only obstacle with the revolution which would make it possible Alcazar to take again the capacity is the alcoholism of its troops. Fortunately, Tournesol invented a drug and tested it on Haddock, with results more than conclusive… The rebels are separated and, thanks to the providential arrival of Séraphin Lampion and its Turlurons invited for the carnival of San Theodoros, they start, without pouring only one blood drops, the revolution while passing unperceived in the middle of the procession. Castafiore and Dupondt are released and Alcazar, which pardoned Tapioca at the request of Tintin, is found once more with the capacity…

Context

The genesis of the album goes back to beginning of the year 60. In the beginning, the history just proceeded after the jewels of the castafiore . In the first synopses, Dupondt traverse South America to the research of Castafiore, in order to give to him emerald stolen by the magpie. The scenario was completely modified, to appear after Vol 714 for Sydney .

At the time of its publication in 1976, Tintin and Picaros had an enormous business success, in particular because of increasingly large spacing between the exits of the albums of Tintin; however, the reception of criticism was rather mitigated. It is true that the universe of Tintin starts to break up there. The “clear Ligne” is not any more what it was, characters either… If Tintin does not want to leave any more, if Haddock does not like any more the whiskey, that does it remain to tell?

Allusions to the international political situation remain present. Thus can one to see San Theodoros tapioquiste as one of these many country of South America which was land of welcome for Nazis, which had supports it in turn Eastern blocs or west, and is also a ground of personal power struggles. At the time of the lawsuit in mondiovision of Dupondt, the public prosecutor refers to the “noble ideology of Plekszy-Gladz”, this last being the dictator of the parody hergéienne totalitarian modes whose Bordurie is the example. The coup d'etat successful at the end of the album by Alcazar is not without pointing out that of Fidel Castro with a low number of men. The author does not make a concession with the friend of Tintin: Alcazar appears illiterate, covetous and imbu of itself. It indeed wishes to rename the capital “Alcazaropolis”, and personifies the mode very as much as its predecessor.

Two narrowly parallel labels show the position denouncer of Hergé: page 11 D2 and page 62 D2. With the background, the plane transporting our heroes, with the landing, then on takeoff (and a misunderstanding of Tryphon Sunflower). In the foreground, two soldiers, initially in uniform tapioquist with the emblem of Plekszy-Gladz, then in uniform alcazarist, look to pass the apparatus to far while supervising the evil placed. In the center same the Bidonville remains always also miserable and its families let us haillons some, with the sign propagandist “Viva Tapioca” simply become “Viva Alcazar”. One notes also the label showing contrast with the richness of the center " town; occidentalisé" or patrol also nonhelmeted soldiers but there….

That the dictatorship is of right-hand side or of left seems to tell us Hergé the people, does not see him its fate moving while the soldiers adapt without states of heart to their new leaders whatever they (like are already indeed shown in " the Ear cassée").

One will find another lampoon of the violent practice of the totalitarian modes in the whole of the details of the label showing the military escort of the captain Haddock " nettoyant" surroundings of the tobacconist where it will make a halt.

Anecdotes

a page had to be withdrawn at the time of the final edition of the album, because it was to contain some to the maximum 62 (as with the practice). This page shows the Colonel Sponsz " Esponja" to drink its glass, then grogner: " This time, I will break them! How… as I break this glass! " It then throws its glass by ground, which blowpipe even not and rebounds against a bust of Plekszy-Gladz, breaking its Moustache. The military officer who is with Sponsz in the part then puts to burst of laughing, then is made réprimander by the Colonel which threatens it, indirectly, block his promotion if he tells what occurred, and makes pass the fault to a cleaning lady. It should be known that this gag was already used twice in other works of Hergé:

in the Valley of the Cobras , the Maharajah de Gopal is in anger against Mr. Legrand who does not want to collaborate with him, which makes it say: " Your will, I will break it, as… as I break this cup! " and throwing to ground the cup which it held in hand, this one rebounds without breaking and runs up against its figure.

in Flight 714 for Sydney , Rastapopoulos Tintin threat and his/her friends while saying: " I will crush you! How… as I crush this poor wretch spider! " It then tries to crush under its boot a spider which passes by there, but this one manages to escape each one of its blows, which exhausts it and puts it in rage.

For the first and last time, Tintin leaves its eternal plus fours for a maroon Jean (which one will re-examine on Tintin in the sketches of Tintin and Alph-Art ).
Of the people disguised in Astérix (to thank Goscinny and Uderzo to have revealed Dupondt in Astérix among Belgians), Snoopy and Mickey Mouse is present at the carnival of San Theodoros.

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